Willmar

Willmar, city, seat (1871) of Kandiyohi county, southwest-central Minnesota, U.S. It is situated on Foot and Willmar lakes, in a lake region about 60 miles (95 km) southwest of St. Cloud. Settlers began arriving in the area in 1856, but the community was later deserted because of the Sioux uprising of 1862. In 1869 the railroad reached the spot, and the town was laid out and named for Leon Willmar, an agent of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company. It became a railroad division headquarters and a shipping point for the surrounding agricultural region. Swedish and Norwegian immigrants settled in ... (100 of 203 words)